NATCHEZ — Country Inn and Suites is having a feud with its general contractor.

The contractor, Hotel Development Inc., is not being paid for the work they did for the hotel, which is owned and managed by Broadway Hospitalities.

Both entities want money owed to them by the City of Natchez, money coming from a $2.1 million bond the city took out to help with the hotel’s construction.

Broadway Hospitalities does not want to pay the HDI because of an alleged list of items that were either not fulfilled or done incorrectly during the construction.

These conflicting claims put the city in a tricky situation, and $1.2 million of the $2.1 million bond is owed, but is being contested.

The city is not in a position to decide where the money should go and that’s why on Aug. 4, it filed a suit in the chancery court against Broadway Hospitalities and HDI.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said what the city did was take the disputed $1.2 million and paid it into the chancery court.

According to Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne, the next step for the money will now be determined by a judge.

The city’s involvement in the suit, now that they’ve paid the money, is complete.

O’Beirne likened the situation to problems insurance companies face.

If a person with a life insurance of $20,000 dies and hasn’t named a beneficiary, a judge has to decide how that money is disbursed among family members.

The insurance company — which is what O’Beirne used to represent Natchez — will pay the money owed to the court.

This essentially takes the burden off their hands, and lets a judge determine where the money should go.

Out of the money owed to either entity, only $910,367.77 could be paid to Broadway Hospitalities without it being contested, Walter Brown, attorney for the hotel, said.

Holloway said all of the money could have been paid had there not been a hang up.

“Had we not had problems, we would have been able to give the full amount to Broadway Hospitalities,” he said.

Brown said some of the problems — the items not fulfilled — include the parking lot that had to be ripped up and repaved shortly after the hotel opened.

A court date has not yet been set to settle the dispute.